Professor Daniel Roy Connelly to Direct and Perform in NSFW
JCU Professor Daniel Roy Connelly will be directing and performing in NSFW, a play by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood. The play will open on May 20, at 8 pm, at the Teatro Arciliuto in Rome.
NSFW poster
Congratulations on directing and acting in NSFW (Not Safe for Work). What is the play about?
It’s very contemporary. It focuses on the media’s obsession with women’s bodies. It’s a comedy, I’d like to say at the outset, and a very funny one as well. It’s set in two editors’ offices: one is the office of a young men’s magazine and the other is that of a women’s magazine. The conceit of the story is that the young men’s magazine editor is choosing their “belle” of the year, and it turns out that there’s a major problem with the photograph that they’ve selected, and it causes chaos. A member of staff who was working for the men’s magazine then goes across to work for the women’s magazine, and we basically see on either side from either editor this absolute unhealthy obsession with women’s bodies and how sexist things are, as well.
I play the editor of the men’s magazine, and I have a staff of three, and then there’s the women’s magazine editor, who’s on her own. There’s also a really pissed-off father of one of the models, who shows up at my office. That’s basically the deal. And it’s 85 minutes long, which is perfect, and it’s very, very funny. And I have a brilliant cast; I have, I think, the best ensemble I’ve ever worked with. I feel really, really blessed by their presence.
This play is quite recent (2012). Why did you choose it? Is there a risk in choosing such a recent play (as opposed to the classics) that might have not yet had the time to consolidate an audience?
These past two years have been a real struggle, especially for theaters. What I wanted to do was to produce a contemporary comedy to get people laughing. To be honest with you, it doesn’t go much deeper than that, I just wanted to give people a laugh, instead of a tragedy. That was my sole concern. I think I’ve got the right play in that regard. It’s not a classic, definitely not, we might see it as a contemporary classic or perhaps a classic in the making, because it’s so beautifully written and so sharp, and so absolutely to the point. It’s an excellent piece of work. I’d love to say to a potential audience that it’s an adult-only show, so don’t bring the kids. But, bring yourselves because it’s hysterically funny, it’s beautifully acted, it’s well-conceived, and you’ll get the best value for money that you’ve had for years, in terms of going to the theater. The tickets are 15 euros. That is really top-quality value for money or what we’re giving.
What were the challenges and the rewards of being both an actor and a director?
I’m not sure about the rewards yet. That’ll have to wait until the run’s over maybe. I can definitely speak to the challenges. As a director you need to see any piece of work from the outside in, you need to stand on the outside and look at what’s happening across the whole interior of the play. If you’re in it, that’s impossible to do. So, one of the challenges is how to direct myself and my other wonderful actors.
You are a professor, a writer, an actor, and a director. How do you juggle all these commitments?
I love being busy. I’ve been teaching here full time this semester, and so the last two months of rehearsals have coincided with full-time work. I’ve had a book coming out as well, and then I’ve been directing and acting. I’m a big believer that if you throw enough different stuff at a wall, some of it is going to stick. I’m blessed because I’m doing what I love. And it doesn’t get any better than that, it just doesn’t. You’re never tired when you do what you love, that’s how you know that you love it, because you’re never tired of doing it. I’m exhausted before and exhausted after, but I walk into a theater and I’m never tired. I’m just alive and alert and I’m in.
How will theater survive against movies, internet, streaming services, etc.?
I just think we want to see celebrities in the flesh. I think that’s quite a large part of it, to see them for real, instead of on a two-dimensional screen. I think that’s a big element of why we like going to the theater. Theater tells the same stories but in a radically different way, because theater is there, it’s live, it’s in the moment. What I love about this play and the theater in which it’s performed, which is the Teatro Arciliuto, is that you’re down on the stage, and the front row of the audience is literally one foot away. You don’t get that watching tv. You can just see straight into the actors’ eyes, as they’re so close to you. It’s terrifying but really exciting, and then when you overcome that and just get on with what you’re doing, it’s sensational. To have people that close to you, you know, you have to avoid tripping over their feet sometimes, because they’re just right there. It’s a really intimate space. I love it.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers/actors/directors?
Multitask. Do as much different stuff as you can, like me, chucking it against the wall, hoping it sticks. Just try as much as you can. Don’t listen too much to what people have to say, unless you really respect them and unless they know what they’re talking about. Believe in what you’re doing. You have to believe in yourself, you have to not do this for the plaudits. So be confident in your abilities, don’t listen too much to others, unless you really respect who’s talking to you. Don’t give up, because, I think it was Richard Bach who said “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” And I think that rings true also for the various media that we talked about. Work your craft as much as you can, you have a responsibility to do that. You have a responsibility to yourself and to the craft, to work as hard as you can and to make yourself as knowledgeable as you can about what you’re doing. It’s hard work. But, you don’t build muscle by swimming with the tide.
NSFW will be performed on the following dates:
Friday, May 20 – 8 pm.
Saturday, May 21 – 5 pm and 8 pm.
Sunday, May 22 – 5 pm and 8 pm.
Friday, May 27 – 8 pm.
Saturday, May 28 – 5 pm and 8 pm.
Sunday, May 29 – 5 pm and 8 pm.
